Vox Pathfinder Question

[jmtaylor22]

I am replacing the 8 inch speaker in my Pathfinder with a 10 inch one, have everything ready but one problem...

Like an idiot I didn't pay attention to what wire was postive and which was negative going to the speaker. There is a black wire which I am guessing is the negative but wanted to make sure.

Any Pathfinder owners out there know which wire is positive and which is negative to the speaker?

Thanks!

[Ben Harmless]

Well, guitar speakers are fundamentally AC devices, so as long as all the speakers in a given enclosure are connected at the same polarity, there shouldn't be a problem. In the case of a single speaker, it plain doesn't matter unless you are running another amp along with it that happens to be of the opposite polarity.

That being said, if you want to do as Vox does, the black wire is hooked up to the positive terminal in my Pathfinder, and the white to the negative.

[jmtaylor22]

Originally Posted by Ben Harmless

Well, guitar speakers are fundamentally AC devices, so as long as all the speakers in a given enclosure are connected at the same polarity, there shouldn't be a problem. In the case of a single speaker, it plain doesn't matter unless you are running another amp along with it that happens to be of the opposite polarity.

That being said, if you want to do as Vox does, the black wire is hooked up to the positive terminal in my Pathfinder, and the white to the negative.

Awesome thanks!

[jmtaylor22]

I put a 10 inch Rajun Cajun in the Pathfinder, and first play I am really digging it. I made a new speaker baffle and covered it with some Vox grill cloth. The magnet is a tight fit, I put some rubber washers on the chassis to keep it from getting sucked right onto the magnet.

It definitely opens the amp up quit a bit, the overall sound is much clearer. It really is a nice sounding amp stock and the 10 inch really lets it breath.

[Ben Harmless]

You know, I've been singing the Pathfinder's praises for years, and I've sworn that it's one of the better clean tones out there under $1000. Every time I've used it to record, however, I've run it through a different cabinet. Hence, I've been thinking about doing a 10" swap myself.

...On the other hand, I'm piecing together a Champ build, so maybe I'll leave well enough alone.

[muchxs]

Originally Posted by Ben Harmless

That being said, if you want to do as Vox does, the black wire is hooked up to the positive terminal in my Pathfinder, and the white to the negative.

Ah, the British. Warm beer and postive ground...

[Ben Harmless]

Originally Posted by muchxs

Ah, the British. Warm beer and postive ground...

LOL. That was my thought too, but who am I to question?

[Hiker]

Shhhh! This well-kept secret might get out! When I located a used Pathfinder without the reverb this Summer for $39.99, I grabbed it!

[jmtaylor22]

Yeah it is a great amp. I've tried just about every small practice/recording amp for under $600, and this Pathfinder is my favorite which is hard to believe for a ~120 dollar solid state amp.

It's quiet, and the clean sound is just fantastic to my ears. The 10 inch speaker is definitely a nice upgrade, the bass is obviously a lot better, it balances out the nice chimey high end that it has.

I played some more with it this morning and was able to turn it up a bit more and it is just fantastic.

It is a lot heavier now! The magnet on the Cajun is huge compared to the stock speaker.

[Sidney Vicious]

jmtaylor22 I see you are in Covington - I'm in NO:

There was a Vox Pathfinder with reverb in the head and 2x8 setup - with footswitch - for only $200 in the Baton Rouge Craigslist just the other day - THAT is a great Pathfinder and may be worth a look - I would get it myself but am trying to unload amps . . . .


Edit to note - its still there:

http://batonrouge.craigslist.org/msg/1428170889.html

[momotrucker]

any recommended settings for clean tone on the pathfinder?

[jmtaylor22]

Originally Posted by momotrucker

any recommended settings for clean tone on the pathfinder?

Well it is pretty basic and a lot will depend on your guitar I think. But right now I have something like

Gain: 9 O' Clock
Volume: 12 O' Clock
Treble: 1 O' Clock
Bass: 1 O' Clock
Tremolo:Off
Depth:Off
Reverb: (To taste)

[shinigami747]

Originally Posted by momotrucker

any recommended settings for clean tone on the pathfinder?

i use something similar to what was posted previously.

gain: 9:30
volume: to taste
treble: 1:00
bass: 11:00
trem/reverb: usually off

[mistermullens]

jmtaylor22, glad to see you got this one figured out. Thanks for the comments on my YT vid. So are you in Covington, GA or another Covington?

[Ben Harmless]

I prefer pickups with more midrange, so my clean tones tend to involve more of the treble and bass controls. Something like:

Boost: off
Gain: 9-10 o'clock
Volume: whatever - usually around 12 o'clock
Treble: 2-3 o'clock
Bass: 11-12 o'clock

I don't really use the 'verb. Trem only when I'm doing some Link Wray or the like. When I'm running dirty, I usually crank back the treble some, and the bass most of the way, as the amp can get a bit muddy with too much low end. This applies both to the amp's own dirt, or pedals run into the front.

[jmtaylor22]

Originally Posted by mistermullens

jmtaylor22, glad to see you got this one figured out. Thanks for the comments on my YT vid. So are you in Covington, GA or another Covington?

Lot's of Covington's around! I am in Covington, KY. near Cincinnati.

[Sidney Vicious]

Originally Posted by jmtaylor22

Lot's of Covington's around! I am in Covington, KY. near Cincinnati.